So the New Orleans Saints have somehow managed a 3-1 start to the season.
Amazingly, as low a level as the team played for much of the first four games, the team is off to its best start since going 5-0 in the forgotten season of 2013.
As exciting as it was to get that third win after Sunday’s 33-18 road win over the New York Giants in the "Christmas in Late September" edition of that series, my best advice to Saints’ fans is to forget about all four games.
Erase the entire blackboard and let’s start over.
With very few exceptions, don’t trust anything you’ve seen — the good or the bad — from the first 16.5 quarters of football.
Seriously folks, the vast majority of what we’ve witnessed means absolutely nothing moving forward.
Don’t be fooled into thinking the offense has been good because it put up a combined 83 points in the two division games thus far. Tampa Bay doesn’t have an NFL defense at this point and neither does Atlanta, due to all its injured defensive standouts.
Don’t be fooled by Drew Brees’ 80-percent completion percentage prior to Sunday’s game.
Sure, Michael Thomas is a great receiver, but wipe away all of those silly thoughts about him shattering the all-time NFL record for receptions in a season.
Sure, Alvin Kamara is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, but don’t expect his numbers to stay the same. (His workload better decrease anyway).
Moreover, there’s just no way the secondary can play as poorly as it did over the first three weeks now that apparently there’s some level communication between the moving parts in the back.
Furthermore still, it’s hard for me to believe the linebackers will be as unproductive as they were over the first three weeks. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has been playing way too much musical chairs with that unit. Putting Demario Davis back in the middle Sunday seemed to work like a charm.
Even the defensive line has under-performed, perhaps due to a lack of help behind it, compared to the lofty preseason hype.
Cameron Jordan hasn’t had a good statistical game yet, rookie Marcus Davenport seems like he’s only scratching the surface, and the interior guys have only been hit-and-miss.
It’s been a struggle on offense too. The running game has certainly suffered without Mark Ingram.
Thankfully, it was able to mask its inefficiencies against two putrid defenses, but the offense has been so limited without its power-rushing source.
Brees and Sean Payton have done a masterful job of putting a Band-Aid on the attack before Ingram returns with the tonic to make it a complete offense once again.
Actually, about the only thing Saints’ fans might be able to carry forth into the final three quarters of the season is the right foot of kicker Wil Lutz. It’s certainly a huge relief to finally have a reliable kicker in New Orleans.
The biggest uncertainty at this point may be how Payton utilizes Taysom Hill.
With Ingram back, will there be enough plays left to use Hill as much as he has over the last two weeks? Better yet, can you afford not to, considering how successful the experiment has been thus far?
The schedule is another major reason to dismiss what you’ve seen so far. The next six games are going to be brutal.
Washington, Baltimore, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Rams all own the Saints.
A split in those four games would be huge. But that doesn’t even include Philadelphia and at Cincinnati in the "Who Dat/Dey?" Bowl.
For the next two months, don’t count on any more gifts. Ingram better come back in shape and ready to make an impact, because the Saints need to be balanced on offense.
No defense has stifled Brees more since arriving in New Orleans than the Redskins, and the Ravens know a little bit about shutting down opposing offenses at home.
Obviously the first four games count in the standings. But in terms of really judging the team’s level of play in all three areas, the season opener is actually Monday night’s game against the Redskins.
Imagine how motivated the two tailbacks — Washington’s Adrian Peterson and Ingram — will be in that game.
And how anxious Saints’ fans will be to see if their team can finally play like a true Super Bowl contender.